


The Evening's Entertainment

by yumedake



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, Hannibal AU, Hannibal is a pretentious weirdo, M/M, What Did I Just Write, crackfic, implied Hannigram, jk I regret nothing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-27
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-05-03 16:40:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5298620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yumedake/pseuds/yumedake
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The AU in which everything is the same except Hannibal plays the banjo.</p><p>New and improved! Now with added <a href="http://i.imgur.com/L2UxNKrl.jpg">fanart manip</a> by @ConsultingStag!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Evening's Entertainment

Hannibal finished cleaning and putting away the last dish dirtied by dinner and he raised his head to smile at Will from across the kitchen counter as he wiped his hands with a dish towel. Will was leaning against the countertop, glass of wine in hand. Will had resisted accepting Hannibal's invitations to dinner up until last week, when Hannibal had insisted on it in no uncertain terms. Will couldn't say that he had regretted the decision.

"You've outdone yourself, Hannibal." Will commented, raising his glass in a salute to the chef.

Hannibal smiled and bowed his head modestly.

"You flatter me." Hannibal replied, looking back up at Will as he set the towel down on the counter. "Are you ready for a little after dinner entertainment, Will?"

Will's brow furrowed for a moment as he considered Hannibal's words... Hannibal wasn't exactly the type of man that Will could envision sitting around a board game with and he was sure that any sort of "entertainment" Hannibal might have in mind would be utterly foreign to him. Nevertheless, he found himself enjoying Hannibal's company and wasn't quite ready to leave.

"Sure. What did you have in mind? A rousing game of Charades?" Will joked dryly, taking another sip of his wine.

Hannibal chuckled and shook his head, rounding the kitchen counter to rest a hand on Will's shoulder and guide him toward the study.

"No. I thought I might play for you a composition I've just completed." Hannibal clarified, walking beside Will into the room.

Will took a look around the study and whistled, taking in the plush seats and dark, warm colors. Hannibal's house was like something out of a movie. Making his way toward one particularly inviting overstuffed armchair, Will took a seat and placed his glass on a coaster atop the nearby end table. 

"I didn't know you composed music too." Will observed, watching as Hannibal made his way to the corner of the room, opening a large cabinet. 

"I enjoy dabbling in music. It soothes my mind." Hannibal answered, turning around with a case in his hand. 

Hannibal sat down on the sofa near the armchair, setting the case on the ground. Will took up his wine once more as he watched with interest, wondering what sort of exotic instrument Hannibal might pull from the case. When he saw what Hannibal lifted carefully from the inside of the case, Will nearly choked on his wine.

"You play...the _banjo_?" Will asked incredulously, his voice slightly raspy thanks to the wine he'd just tried to inhale.

Hannibal looked up at Will, tilting his head ever so slightly in that way he always did when he was surprised by something.

"Were you expecting something different, Will?" Hannibal asked, clearly failing to see a reason for the surprise that was written all over Will's face.

Will shook his head, setting his wine down lest he make a second attempt to choke himself to death.

"No...no, I just... I guess I expected something more exotic." Will replied, swallowing to try and ease the burning in his throat. 

Hannibal smiled and reached for the pick that he kept in the case. 

"I assure you, this instrument is quite exotic to the people of my homeland. They have heard tales of the folk music of the American South but no one has seen a banjo, let alone played one. I find it to be a very complex and joyful sound." Hannibal explained, offering Will a smile before turning his attention to the tuning knobs at the end of the stock. 

Will's expression shifted to utter disbelief as he realized that what Hannibal had just said was very serious. It was upon realizing this that Will also came to the conclusion that he was not nearly drunk enough for this particular experience. Reaching over for his wine, Will emptied the glass in one fell swoop and stood up abruptly.

"This wine is, uh...delicious. Is it alright if I have some more?" Will said in a rush, gesturing with his glass toward the kitchen.

Hannibal glanced up, plucking a string and twisting one of the knobs to tune the instrument. Will fought the urge to wince at the twanging sound it made.

"Of course. Help yourself." Hannibal answered before directing his attention back to the instrument. 

Will hurried off in the direction of the kitchen, making his way toward the pantry as he heard the beginnings of "Dueling Banjos" wafting after him from the study. Opening the heavy door, Will stepped into the pantry and shut the door behind him before he cracked up laughing. Of all of the ridiculous things he had ever seen or heard from Hannibal, this had to take the cake. Will let the laughter overwhelm him, his arms crossing over his belly as it began to ache. It took a full two minutes for Will to compose himself and catch his breath. Reaching up, Will brushed away the tears that had gathered at the corners of his eyes. 

Upon exiting the pantry, Will bit his lip hard to keep himself from busting up again and made his way to the open wine bottle, pouring himself easily twice as much as Hannibal had poured him for dinner. With a deep breath, Will turned to make his way back into the study and take his seat. 

Hannibal finished the ten or so measures of "Dueling Banjos", smiling and obviously pleased with the tune of the instrument. As Will sat down again he regarded him with a friendly smile.

"The inspiration for this piece came to me last Tuesday as I was watching the sun filter through the curtains at my office. It created the most brilliant blocks of yellow light that reminded me of the fields of grain one might see in rural America." Hannibal revealed, a look of calm seriousness on his face. 

Will stared at Hannibal, unable to properly comprehend the amount of pretentiousness that he had just heard. Will decided that the best course of action was to nod, feign interest and plug his mouth with wine so that he didn't say anything rude. If Hannibal noticed Will's inner struggle, it was not immediately obvious. 

Will was not prepared for what followed. Hannibal's fingers moved easily over the neck of the instrument, pressing on each fret with the skill of someone who had been playing the instrument his entire life. Will found himself practically mesmerized by the way Hannibal played, even if the music that the instrument was not necessarily Will's favorite sound. Nevertheless, Hannibal had composed something that sounded impressive, grand and swelling like the works of the great composers and all this from... a banjo. Will was gobsmacked. 

As Hannibal finished his piece and Will finished his glass in anticipation of an encore, Will couldn't help but laugh. 

"You don't do anything badly, do you? I mean, if you can play the friggin' banjo and make it sound like that, what else are you capable of?" Will asked, shaking his head in amused disbelief.

"You should try me in bed." Hannibal answered, the corner of his lips slightly quirked up in a half smile.

Will wasn't sure if it was the wine or his headaches that had produced what was clearly an auditory hallucination but he thought it polite to clarify in case Hannibal actually had said something of interest.

"...What?" Will asked, a slight hesitancy to his voice.

Hannibal looked up as he adjusted the banjo in his lap, handling it as if it was made of gold. 

"What?" Hannibal countered, brows arched in curiosity.

Will smirked and shook his head. 

"Nothing. Play on, maestro." Will invited, relaxing into the cushion behind him.

With a genuine smile on his lips, Hannibal did just that.


End file.
